It's All In Your Head
by Alyssa Tolensky
Summary: The story about my main OC Axel Rose and his life in ECW. Things for Axel aren't exactly what you would call...normal. T for language.
1. This is Where I'll Start

Disclaimer: Everything except for Axel and Conan are not mine

**Disclaimer: Everything except for Axel and Conan are not mine. They are property of the WWE and ECW. Lenore belongs to a friend.**

Introduction

Hey everyone. The name's Axel, Axel Rose to be exact. Yeah, I was named after lead singer of Guns and Roses. Credit for that would have to go to my dad, bless his soul. Anyway, the story you are about to read are the events that I've faced in ECW. I'm not starting with my childhood exactly, but I will start with the most important horrific day of my life. More bits and pieces of my past will be revealed as you, the reader, well you know, read. So without further ado, _It's All In Your Head_.

--

A little eight year old boy with long messy red hair walks along the cracking sidewalk, in Albany, New York, purple Jansport backpack slung over his back. He makes to a house along the street, whips out a gleaming key from out of his pocket, and casually puts it in the keyhole. With a simple turn, the door unlocks and he sighs as he walks in.

"Mom, I'm home!" he yelled as he closed the door behind him and threw off his dirty, dark red converse. He got no response from his shouting. The boy sighed. 'Still at work'. He thought as he walked up the stairs to his bedroom to drop off his bag before going out side to play basketball. He tosses his bag on the unmade bed and grabs his ball off the floor from behind the trash bin.

'I wish that she would actually be home on time for once. It's nice to talk to someone after a long day.' He thought and shrugged walking into the kitchen to grab a pen and paper. He put down the ball and scribbled, "B-Ball court. Be home later. Love, Axel." It had recently become a rule in the house that he was to leave a note before leaving the house. Axel picked up his ball and walked out the door, again locking the door with his key, and began walking down the sidewalk again to the basketball court about two blocks from his house.

He didn't really have anyone to play with. Over time, he had developed a bad reputation. He was a good kid, he was pretty smart, but if someone bugged him enough, he only had to throw a single punch and break the kid's nose. After one particular incident in first grade, no one wanted anything to do with him. Axel didn't mind. He didn't have many friends to begin with anyway.

Although they didn't know, Axel felt self-conscience about having a growing brain tumor. It puzzled all the doctors he saw. It wasn't affecting him or his behavior in anyway aside from the horrible headaches every now and then.

He finally made it over to the court and opened the gate. He began dribbling the ball, shoot, miss. He sighed. He got the ball and walked to the far end of the court. He put the ball in front of his eyes, lowered it and dribbled toward the basket, zig zagging as he went, shoot, score! He smiled and chuckled. He did this for maybe twenty minutes before he heard the rattling of the gate being opened. He didn't look to see who it was and scored another basket.

"You're getting good, buddy." A female teen voice spoke. Axel turned to see who it was. His eyes lit up. It was his babysitter and good friend Savana.

"Hey Savana." Completely forgetting about the ball, it bounced smacking him on the side of the head making him fall over. "Ow! What the--" he said rubbing his head. Savana giggled.

"You okay?" she asked coming over to him. Axel got up off the asphalt.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just caught me off guard is all." He replied. "Isn't my mom back at the house yet?" Axel asked getting the ball. She shook her head.

"I got to the house and found your note. I called your mom and she wants you to come home so I can keep a better eye on you."

Axel frowned. "But, you can watch me just fine out here! This has never been a problem before!" he protested.

"Well, I think your mom's just worried about your brain tumor. She just wants you to be safe." Axel crossed his arms and huffed. "I know it's not fair, but come on, we can play monopoly." She suggested picking up the ball and putting it under her arm. Axel gave up.

"Oh, alright." He said, Savana tussled his hair.

"Come on. I'll let you be the racecar." She offered. Axel smiled.

"I'm totally going to kick your butt with the racecar!" he shouted excitedly. Savana laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, we'll see." She replied as they walked back to the house.


	2. Enter Conan, Exit Dad

Disclaimer: Same as the first chapter…

**Disclaimer: Same as the first chapter…**

Savana and Axel walked into the house and Savana set down her purse on the counter in the kitchen.

"Alright, Axel, if you get your homework finished then we can play monopoly all we want and eat some of the leftover pizza in the fridge." Savana said. Axel scurried up the stairs.

"Okay!" he called as he went into his room. He pulled his notebook out of his backpack and grabbed the math book out from under his bed. Whenever Savana came over, he always seemed to finish his homework a lot quicker than normal. Not to mention that half of his work was already finished. It would only take a total of ten minutes to get completely finished.

As he worked on his homework, he heard the beeping from the microwave. 'The pizza must be ready.' He thought he looked at his paper. Two problems were left and they weren't that difficult. 'Well…I'll finish the rest in the morning.' He put his notebook back in his bag and hurried down the stairs jumping the last three at the bottom.

"I'm all done!" he lied. Savana smiled.

"You heard the microwave, huh?" Axel nodded. Savana put a slice of pizza on a plate for him as she grabbed one for herself. "Why don't you get out the board from the cabinet in the living room and set it up while I get some soda out for us?"

"Alright." Axel brought in his plate and set it on the coffee table as he got out the worn game. He took off the lid and shuffled through the different, small, metal pieces as if he was searching for treasure until he came across his coveted racecar piece. He rearranged the money and dealt out the right amount for the both of them.

"You got it all set up, Axel?" Savana asked as she walked in with her food and two glasses. Axel looked up and saw what was in the glasses.

"Diet Cola floats?! My mom said we were out of ice cream!" Axel said as he grabbed one of the glasses, his green eyes widened. Savana laughed at his enthusiasm.

"I actually bought some vanilla ice cream as a special treat just for you. You can see some later without the soda if you'd like." Axel slurped away at the drink and burped. He squinted his eyes and folded his hands like the Godfather.

"You keep playing your cards right then you'll have to get a rise, my friend. You are like family to me." Axel replied. They both laughed, set down their drinks and the game was under way as Savana as banker.

All throughout the game, they tricked each other and cheated several times by randomly sneaking money out of the bank, making up chance cards, and making horrible deals on properties. Axel several times would randomly put three hotels on one of his properties just as Savana would land on it, but when she would do that, Axel would ram the car piece into the small plastic buildings knocking them over.

The game eventually ended when Axel couldn't put any more mortgages on his properties and went bankrupt.

"I still say, that Banshee Boardwalk is an invisible property!" Axel complained after Savana's win.

"Well, then you should've let me buy Star Street even though that one's not real." She replied. Axel took a bit of his pizza.

"That's because you said Star Street charged fifteen hundred thousand dollars if you land on it and that's not fair!" Savana rolled her eyes.

"I think that the way that _we_ play isn't very fair either." Savana said glancing at the torn rule page being held together by a long piece of tape.

"That's 'cause if we played by the actual rules, this game would be really really boring! I mean, you actually have to pay for hotels and houses! How lame is that?" Axel wasn't giving a very good argument. Savana chuckled.

"Too bad in real life you can't cheat like this." Savana pointed out. Axel nodded.

"Yeah." Suddenly, his head started to mildly hurt. He grabbed one side of his head and shut his eyes. "Ah." He whispered in pain. Savana looked concerned.

"Axel, are you okay?" She was worried whenever he would do that. Axel opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" A piercing pain hit him hard. "Ow!" he screamed as he held his head both hands now. Savana put her hand on his shoulder.

"Axel, are you alright?" She asked again. Axel shook his head.

"It really hurts!" he yelled. Savana picked him up and took him into the kitchen and grabbed her cell phone to call his mom.

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worse pain you've ever felt and one being not so bad." Savana asked as she dialed his mom's cell number.

"Twenty-five!" Axel screamed, his eyes watered as he had them shut tight, his hands still on his head pulling at his hair. Savana was more nervous than ever. Savana tapped her foot as the phone was dialing. His mom's voice came on.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Joanna, it Savana. Axel's head is really really bothering him to the point where he's screaming. I'm taking him to the hospital. If you could just meet me there…" Savana said frantically.

"Okay, I'll get there as fast I can." She hung up. Savana picked up Axel and put him the back of her car. She got him buckled in and she herself got into the car and drove off as quickly as she could.

The whole way there was agonizing for the both of them. Savana just couldn't stand to hear him in so much pain. It was a long agonizing seven minutes before actually pulling up to Albany Medical.

Savana pulled into a parking space and got Axel out the car as quickly as she could. She ran with him in her arms as fast she could through the front door. It only took half a second for people to look up at the screaming boy. A smaller dark-haired nurse ran over.

"Oh God, Axel what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nurse Nancy, my brain is splitting in half!" he screamed.

"Is his mom on the way?" Nancy asked. Right on cue, Joanna ran in through the door to her son's side. She began to stroke his hair.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay." She assured. Nancy motioned over a tall doctor with a clipboard.

"I think that we should probably have that tumor taken out now if it's causing this much discomfort." Nancy said to Joanna. When the tumor was found two weeks before, Nurse Nancy had said that it would be very risky to remove the tumor and not damage his brain. Joanna looked at her son who had stopped screaming, but was hyperventilating.

"Mrs. Rose, I recommend that we try the surgery. If we don't, it'll only be a matter of hours before…" Joanna gasped and looked at Axel who looked back at her with scared eyes.

"Mom?" Axel said nervously.

Joanna sighed. "Try everything you can…please." She said, tears started to roll down her face. Nancy gave a single nod and put Axel on a stretcher that the tall doctor brought in just then.

"Mom, am I going to die?" Axel asked his eyes began to water. Joanna put a hand in her son's shoulder.

"Honey, no matter what happens, baby, I'll always love you." She said tears staining her face. Axel wrapped his arms around his mom and he began to cry.

"I love you, too, mom." They broke apart. "I want dad here!" Axel said as they pushed the stretcher away.

"I'll call him, Axel. Don't worry!" she called. As Axel was rushed back to the emergency room, the white walls rushed past him, and he got more and more scared for his life. When they arrived in the room, Nancy gave him one of those aqua colored gowns.

"Axel, I know you must be really scared, but you can trust us, okay?" Another one the doctors told him as Axel tied up the strings of the gown.

"Okay." Axel replied.

"Alright, we're going to put this mask over your nose and mouth and you just need to breathe normally. This will put you to sleep while we perform the surgery. Just get up here on the bed and relax." Axel took a deep breath as he laid down on the bed and they brought over the tank and mask.

They put the mask over his nose and mouth and his eyes slowly began to close. The next thing he knew…blackness.

Everything was still black, but Axel could hear a beeping sound and indistinct voices. Finally, the voices became clearer.

"We were lucky that we didn't lose him half way through."

"This kid doesn't know how lucky he is."

"The gas should be wearing off. Axel?" Axel managed to open his eyes. "Axel, how are you feeling?" Nancy asked. Axel shifted.

"Exhausted. And my head kinda hurts." He said feeling his head. There was a patch of hair shaven where they had worked. His mom was crying and hugged him.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay." Axel smiled and also saw Savana standing on the other side of the bed.

"You really scared us." Savana added. Axel looked around, but he didn't see his dad anywhere.

"Where's dad?" Axel asked innocently. His mom sighed.

"Axel, your dad…your dad died in a car accident." She managed to say. Axel was shocked and took it as a joke. A very cruel, sick joke. "I called him and he said he'd get over here as quick as he could, but half way through your surgery, I got a call from one of the medics using his cell phone." Tears rolled down and Axel shook his head.

"No, I…I won't believe it!" Axel said tears weld up.

"I'm sorry, but Axel…he's gone." Savana said trying to keep him calm.

"No! No, it's not true!" Tears streamed down as his mom wrapped him tightly in another hug.

"Hey, sorry about your dad. Poor kid." He heard a strange voice coming from the side of his bed. He looked over to see a small kid with long black hair, baggy jeans, and skin as white as the shirt he was wearing. He looked like he had just arose from the dead.

"Who are you?" Axel asked.

"What are you talking about, Axel?" his mom asked concerned that he was starting to get amnesia.

"That kid right there." He pointed at the boy, but for some reason, his mom and Savana saw no one there, nor did they hear anything.

"There's no one there, sweetie." His mom assured him.

"Huh?" Axel was confused. "How can you not see him? He's right there! He's this tall, has white skin and black hair. He's standing there as plain as day!" Axel stated. Nancy motioned for Joanna to come and see something on one of there monitors.

"Is my boy seeing things, Nancy?" she asked worried for her son's well-being.

"No, what he's seeing is very real to him." Joanna too became confused. "Let me explain. During the operation, we had removed the tiniest, microscopic portion from his brain along with the tumor by mistake. Our theory is that something in his brain triggered this physical being in his head. Only Axel can see, hear, or feel whatever this thing is."

"So, he has a _real_ imaginary friend?" Joanna asked.

"Well, yes, I suppose that is one way to put it. I'm actually going to have him draw this being so we know what exactly he's seeing." Joanna nodded.

"So who are you?" Axel asked the boy again. The boy shrugged.

"I don't know." He replied simply in a Cartman-esque voice.

"Do you have a name?" Axel asked. The boy shook his head.

"I don't have one…I don't think…How bout you name me? Thanks to you, I'm now truly alive!" he said happily. Axel pondered.

"How about…Billy?" he shook his head. "Paul?" Again, he didn't like it. "I'm not good at coming up with names!" Axel yelled. What he hadn't noticed was that Savana had turned on the TV and was flipping channels and found the Conan Show. "That's it!" Axel said looking at the boy. "What about Conan?" he asked.

"Hmm…" he pondered. "I like it! It's got a nice edge to it. So what about you? What's your name?" Conan asked.

"I'm Axel Rose. That's my babysitter Savana, and that's my mom over there." Axel explained. "What I don't get though is why no one else knows that you're here." Conan shrugged.

"Beats me." Just then, Nancy and his mom came in with some paper and colored pencils.

"Honey, Nancy and I want you to draw a picture of your friend okay?" Joanna asked as she handed his the drawing materials.

"Okay, but can you tell me why I'm the only one who sees him?" Axel asked pulling out the black colored pencil.

"Sure." Joanna replied. "Nurse Nancy will explain all this to you as you draw your friend." So she did. She explained to him everything as simple as she could make it so that he could understand.

He also managed to finish his drawing for his mom. "Quite personally, I think you captured the true me pretty well." Conan complimented. "I think that you and me we'll get along just fine from now on."


	3. Expulsion 2

Although it didn't seem super important to Axel at the time, his face was in several newspapers for surviving a brain tumor operation. Even at school, kids noticed. It didn't matter, though. He didn't care about making friends. It was only fourth grade. He could make friends later in life. Besides, he had the best thing in the whole world instead…sort of. When Conan didn't get his way, he wasn't the friendliest of people.

At times, because Axel could feel Conan, it looked as though Axel was punching the air and being hit back by nothing. That's when things started to get out of hand.

It seemed like just another day at recess. Axel was sitting on the swings along and talking to Conan playing in the sand as if he was talking to an actual person. Just then, a boy in his class, Ryan Kitkowski came up to him.

"Hey, Axel. You know you're a real freak." He said. Axel rolled his eyes. "You always talk to yourself. You're the biggest loser." He said smiling thinking he was so cool. Conan looked at Axel.

"Say something back, man. Don't take that." He advised.

"I am rubber you are glue. What you say bounces off me and sticks to you." Axel said. Ryan's smile disappeared and he shoved Axel off the swing. Conan stood up.

"You gonna take that from some pussy?" he yelled. Axel was confused.

"Some what?" he mouthed. Ryan grabbed him by the front of the shirt.

"That's the best you can come up with wuss?" Axel was starting to get irritated. "Give me your best shot; or are you too scared?" he asked. Axel immediately threw a punch to Ryan's nose making a crack. He had obviously broken the kid's nose.

"I'm not scared. You're just an idiot." Axel said with a smirk as Ryan held his now bleeding nose, crying. Axel looked down at Conan who was standing there speechless.

"Man, that was…awesome!" Conan shouted. "Five, right here!" Axel held his hand to eye level and Conan jumped up and slapped it. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of seconds before the teacher on recess duty came over.

"Uh, Conan, I think I'm busted." Axel said watching nervously as the teacher made a bee line towards him. Conan nodded. The teacher, Ms. Banner, helped Ryan on his feet and grabbed Axel by the wrist.

"Mr. Rose, you are in some serious trouble young man." She said nearly dragging him to the office. When they got to the office, she had him sit in one of the chairs outside the principal's office.

"Mr. Kitkowski, I'll take you to the nurse. Rose, you stay right here." She turned to the secretary sitting behind the desk across the room. "Mrs. Boyd, could you please call Mrs. Rose down here for me?" Axel shot up in his seat as Conan climbed into the seat next to him.

"You're calling my mom?" Axel asked nervously.

"That's right." Ms. Banner replied. "Come on Ryan." Mrs. Boyd began dialing the phone as Ms. Banner and Ryan left for the nurse's office. Axel slouched in his seat and sighed.

"Conan, I am grade "A" dead meat. My mom will get so mad if I get suspended again." Conan shifted his body in the seat trying to get comfortable. "I mean, it was Ryan's fault in the first place." Conan quirked his eyebrow at him.

"Well, that would be excusable if that kid _wasn't_ mildly retarded." Axel shrugged.

"I guess that's true." Axel looked up at the ceiling. "It's almost like this is some horrible joke." Just then Mrs. Boyd hung up the phone.

"Axel, your mom said she's on her way." Then she went back to typing and answering more phone calls. Axel sat up straight and looked down at his feet.

"I just wish_ that_ was the punch line." Axel said to himself. About ten minutes passed and his mom came into the office.

"Hi, Joanna." Mrs. Boyd greeted.

"Hi, Ellen. Do I have to sign in as a visitor again or-" She was handed the clipboard from the other side of the desk. "I guess that I do." Mrs. Rose signed her name and sat down next to Axel and didn't say anything.

"Hi mom." Axel said timidly. His mom didn't look at him. "Um, it's a funny story about what happened. If you just let me explain-" His mom turned to him.

"You are in so much trouble when we get home, young man." She threatened.

"Yeah, but mom I-" Axel tried to defend himself.

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses, Axel. I really don't." Axel sat quietly until the principal, Mr. Powell came through his office door.

"Mrs. Rose, I'm so sorry you had to come down here today." He said. Joanna stood up and shook his hand. "Why don't you and Axel come on in?" he held open the door.

"Thank you, Mr. Powell." Joanna said pulling up a seat. Axel sat in the seat next to her, hands folded in his lap, and looking guilty.

"Well, as you know, Mrs. Rose, you're son is very brilliant. He's getting great grades and he's very creative, but lately we've been having trouble with him and this violence issue." Joanna looked at her son.

"Violence? Axel, what did you do?" Axel didn't answer.

"Mrs. Rose, he threw only a single punch at a boy and broke his nose. As a bonus, it also happened to be one of our special needs kids." Joanna looked at Axel shocked.

"Axel, is that true?" Axel nodded.

"He was calling me a wuss and I guess I just…lost it." Joanna shook her head. "Mom, he was the one picking the fight with me? What was I supposed to do run away and just take his attitude?" Axel asked getting annoyed that no one was siding with him.

"What you should've done was to leave him alone and tell a teacher." Mr. Powell replied going through his filing cabinet. Axel looked down at his lap and bounced his leg. Mr. Powell sat back down at his desk and put down a file with Axel's name on it. "Mrs. Rose, as you can see, your son is growing quite a file mostly do to the lack of his self-control." It seemed that the meeting lasted hours.

The conference ended up with an expulsion. It was Axel's second expulsion in school so far. It was getting harder and harder for his mom to find him another school and the schools were getting further and further as well. Eventually, though she found another school for him and things seemed to be running smoothly…that is until sixth grade.


	4. Alexander Valentine

This was definitely the time in his life when things got pretty interesting. It was a few weeks into the first quarter of sixth grade. Axel had managed to stay out of trouble…Conan and Axel managed to stay out of trouble, actually.

It seemed like an average day. It was just after lunch in History class. The teacher, an older woman by the name of Ms. Underwood had stepped out of the classroom to deliver a few papers to the office leaving all the students to start talking to one another. A couple of boys sitting in front of Axel were talking.

"So dude, why the heck are we stuck learning this crud?" A boy with spiked blonde hair named David asked to an Italian-looking boy named Tony (I know. His parents were very original, right?) Tony shrugged.

"I don't know, but I don't think a master drummer will need to know what happened in the early 13th century." He replied.

"I know. What about me? I'm going to be an Olympic gold track runner. I'm going to need to know this stuff?" David said. Then they turned back and faced him. "What about you, Axel? You're job isn't going to be a historian or anything stupid like that, I take it." Axel shook his head.

Conan whispered, "Tell them about your awesome career, man. These ass clowns ain't got shit on you!" Axel hated when he started cussing. He had always tried to avoid using language like that when he was younger. He didn't want to get in trouble again.

"No. Let's just say I'm not an aspiring future librarian." Axel replied. They kind of laughed. "But in all honesty, I'm going to be a pro wrestler for the WWF." Now, let me point out that if Axel hadn't have said that, he may have never sparked a life long enemy. A boy with jet black hair sitting two rows ahead spun around and smirked. He looked straight at him.

"Heh. You? You want to be in the WWF?" he started laughing and of course everyone stopped talking and listened to what was going on. "Looking at you, it looks like they'll eat you alive!"

Conan looked at Axel confused, "Who does this bozo think he is?" It of course was none other than Alexander Valentine. You may know him in the business as Nightmare.

He wasn't finished. "Besides, even if you do get in on a stroke of pure luck, you couldn't beat me! You see, I'm going to be a pro wrestler for the WWF as well." He quirked an eyebrow and grinned evilly.

"Oh really?" Axel stood up out of his seat.

Conan tugged on his jeans. "Axel, no! You can't fight this guy! We were doing so good on our, not beat up brainless children record!" Conan begged as Axel started to come towards him. At that point, he too got up out of his seat and came towards him.

"You think this is a smart idea, Rose? Picking a fight with me may not be such a great idea!" He warned as they got face to face. Axel clenched his fists and the kids started to whisper amongst themselves. Axel glared at him. "Alright, have it your way. You, me at the flagpole after the last bell." He challenged. Axel just scoffed. "What?" he asked angrily.

"Seems a little cliché doesn't it?" he replied with a smirk.

"Good job, man. Just avoid this whole fight thing." Conan said clapping.

"Why not right now?" Axel asked.

"No, no, no! That's not quite what I had in mind." Conan said. And just like that, Alexander threw a punch and hit him square in the jaw. It took him back, but he tackled him and it started. The kids got up and gathered around watching us perform all the moves we saw on television, the cobra clutch, hammerlock, Boston crab, and a series of punches and pulling at each others hair. Before long, Ms. Underwood came in.

"Boys! Boys!" She yelled moving past the kids to break them up. "Hey, stop it! You two come with me to the principal's office, now!" Then it hit Axel like a ton of bricks, he had screwed up again.

"I told you not to do it, asshole!" Conan shouted at Axel as him and Alexander followed Ms. Underwood to the main office.

"Shut up, Conan!" he shouted shouted. Alexander and Ms. Underwood looked at him confused.

"Who are you talking to, Axel?" Ms. Underwood asked. That was just not his day. First the fight and now he was screaming at an invisible midget. Axel shook his head.

"Uh, nothing." Axel slapped his forehead. Alexander shook his head at him.

"Freak." He mumbled. When we got to the office, Ms. Underwood had them both sit down in the two chairs outside the principal's door as she talked to the secretary. A moment later, Ms. Underwood turned to them.

"Alright, boys, Principal Wartz will be here in a minute or two." She said. Axel sighed. "Now we just informed your parents-"

"You called my mom?!" Alexander asked freaking out.

"We didn't get a hold of your mom." Alexander looked confused for a second and then his face dropped.

"Oh no. Not my dad." Alexander said.

"Yes, we got a hold of your father. He said he'll be here as soon as possible." She replied. "Axel, your mother's on her way." She left them alone. And there was nothing, but to wait. Alexander slouched in his seat.

"Dammit." He whispered. He looked dead at Axel. "I blame you for this!" he yelled. Conan tugged on his jeans once more.

"Axel, don't get wrapped up in this! This douche bag isn't worth it!" he said. This time actually just waved it off. Axel shook his head.

"Whatever." Axel mumbled.

"Whatever? You…bastard, you threw the first punch! You got me in trouble and now you've involved my dad into this mess!" He just glared at Axel. "I hate you. And mark my words, Rose. If you and I both get into the WWF, I'll tear you apart."

"Likewise." Axel replied. For the next ten minutes all that could be heard was the secretary clicking away on her keyboard and the phone ringing in another room. Finally, the principal came up to them.

"Hello there, boys." He said unlocking his door and opening it. "How about we step inside and chat. The two boys walked in and sat in the two chairs, well except for Conan who sat on the floor against the wall. "So, tell me what happened." As if on queue, their parents walked into the room. "Ah, yes. Mr. Valentine, Mrs. Rose." Principal Wartz said shaking their hands.

"Principal Wartz." Mr. Valentine said shaking his hand unamused.

"What seems to be the problem, Mr. Wartz?" his mom asked standing next to where Axel sat. He sighed.

"Well, I was just about to find out myself. Now, boys, would you like to explain to me what happened?" he asked lacing his fingers and setting them on his desk. Alexander and Axel started clamoring and yelling at the same time trying to get their stories out first. "Whoa! Whoa! Settle down!" They got quiet. "Now, Axel. Would you care to go first?"

"You'll never get me to talk! Say it, Axel!" Conan suggested. "It would be funny…well for me."

"Well, I…I kind of just lost control." Axel looked up at his mom. The look on her face broke his heart. He knew he had once again disappointed her. The principal sighed.

"Well, that was a great explanation. Alexander, if you could please let me in on what happened, please."

"Certainly." He said. "I was telling Axel that I too shared his wrestling interest. Then he attacked me! He's an animal!" Alexander defended.

"You egged me on! You punched me and put me in the Boston crab! You attacked me, too!" Axel said. "In fact, you were the one who started it!"

"Who cares I finished it!" he defended.

"That's your comeback?" Axel asked.

"Boys, I've heard enough." Mr. Wartz took out a couple of papers from a filing cabinet and set them on his desk. He signed his name on one of the lines on the bottom. "Fighting is a serious problem and there will be consequences. Because this is their first offense, they will not receive suspension, however, they will have to come to school tomorrow, Saturday morning to pick up trash and scrape the gum off the sidewalks. Now if you parents could sign on this line here and if you boys could sign here." They all signed on their own sheets. "Thank you and I'm sorry I had to take you parents out of your busy schedules to do this."

"It's no problem, Mr. Wartz." Mr. Valentine responded looking at his son. "It won't happen again." Alexander rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you two tomorrow then." Mr. Wartz shook their hands and they left. Mr. Valentine grabbed his son by the wrist.

"Alexander, when we get home, you and I are going to have a serious talk about this and your punishment." Johanna was silent the whole way out to the car. Even on the drive home, she didn't say a word nor did she even look at him.

"Mom, I'm sorry." No response. "Please, mom," Axel begged. "Please talk to me. Say something." Still nothing. Then they finally got home. Axel calmly climbed out of the car and headed inside without even glancing at the blank expression on his mother's face. Without a word, Axel walked up to his room and closed the door. He sighed and sat down on his bed. Conan climbed up and sat beside him. Conan innocently looked up at Axel whose eyes were beginning to water and placed one of his little hands on his back.

"Listen, man." Conan began, "I'm sure this whole thing will blow over and when we look back on this it'll all just be a funny memory."

"Conan, shut up." Axel replied, "Look, I know you're trying to make me feel better, but I really don't want anyone talking to me okay?"

His little friend smiled. "Yeah, but Axel. It wasn't your fault." He said.

"Conan, I said shut up! It's all my fault! I could've avoided the whole thing, but no! I mean…God, I'm so stupid!" Axel yelled punching himself in the head. Axel lightly rubbed his head. "Ow."

Then they heard a tapping, as if something gently rapping; rapping on his bedroom door. Joanna slowly opened the door and came in. "Axel, honey, can I talk to you?" she asked coming towards him.

"Sure." He replied moving down giving his mom some room to sit down.

"Axel, I know that you try so hard." Axel nodded. His mom continued, "But honey, you have to watch that temper."

"Mom-" Axel tried to cut in.

"Please, let me finish." She replied. "Sweetheart, I think I understand. When someone stabs at you or tries to make you feel inferior, you have to stand up and stab back to protect your pride." Joanna sighed, "Your dad would do the same thing."

Axel's head shot up. "Really?" she nodded. "Then how come I get in trouble and dad never seemed to get in trouble for anything?" he asked.

"Oh, he did get in trouble, Axel. He did." She replied. "But as he got older, he stopped doing that. He just learned to let things go and not get caught up in what people said or did to try to make him feel unimportant."

"When _did_ he get in trouble, mom?" Axel asked getting more and more curious by the minute. His mom smiled.

"It was back in high school." She began. "I was a junior, he was a senior, but we had a few classes together and were occasionally partnered up for projects and things. After awhile, I started getting a crush on him."

"Did he have a crush on you, too?" he asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure if he liked me the same way. Then one day, this other boy was saying mean things about me to your dad and I watched as your dad through a punch right at him and said 'I happen to love Joanna Palin. And if you keep saying shit about her, I'll beat you to kingdom come!' I knew from then on we'd always be together." She concluded.

"Wow." Axel responded wide-eyed. "Great story, mom. That's so cool!"

His mom chuckled. "Yeah…he was suspended for six days for that though." It was silent for a long time before Axel hugged her. She began to stroke his thick red hair.

"I miss dad." Axel said. Joanna nodded tears starting to come down her face.

"Me too, sweetheart. Me, too."


	5. Who Is She?

Disclaimer: Same as all the other chapter(s) that have this

**Disclaimer: Same as all the other chapter(s) that have this. I don't own WWE anything! Axel and other unheard of characters are mine.**

Hey! Axel here; I'm poking in here for a second. Well, look at this. You made it to chapter 5…then again these chapters are pretty short…well, sort of. Let me some this up for you so the co-author doesn't have to write more of sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade. I'll have her pick up at really my first day at the WWE…Hang on, Conan is going to say a little something before starting again.

Hey, there, party people! So far, the author has made it seem like it's all about this asshole! Let me tell y'all something! It's all about meh! It always has been and always will be about meh!

Okay, sorry, readers. I kicked Conan off. I know you guys like him. God knows why, but I think it's fair if we let the author continue! I would love more type time personally, but I hey, it's more important to have a professional get my story out there…okay so I didn't hire a professional writer! Can you blame me? I'm busy enough as it is, man! What with a wrestling career, my family — oops! I'm getting ahead of myself and blowing the story. Heh heh. Thanks Jamie-Skellington!

Things hadn't changed much since middle school between Axel and Alexander. Throughout the full four years of high school, they never stopped slamming their shoulders in the hall, trying to humiliate each other in front of their classes, and of course, they never stopped arguing of who was the better wrestler. Alexander over time had found out about Conan and saw this as another way to embarrass Axel trying to pin him as being crazy or insane. None of it seemed to matter when Axel joined a Guns N' Roses tribute band earlier that year. He of course took the jobs of singing the vocals as Axl and helped their band win second place in the school talent show. Alexander was still not amused. Luckily, after graduation, they won't see or hear from each other for several more years.

THREE YEARS LATER…Tuesday night in Yonkers, NY

Axel and Conan stood in front of a dark wooden desk, Mr. McMahon smiling as Axel signed the last page of his five year contract. Mr. McMahon offered his right hand as Axel gave back the black ballpoint pen.

"Welcome to World Wrestling Entertainment, Rose." Axel took his hand and shook it. He smiled.

"Thank you so much, Mr. McMahon. You won't be disappointed." He assured. Vince chuckled.

"Well, let's hope not." They both laughed and Vince patted him on the back. "Oh, and, Rose, call me Vince." Axel nodded and he began to leave the office with his dark red bag slung over his shoulder. "Axel, you're checked into the hotel and everything?" Vince asked.

"Uh, yeah." Axel replied.

"You wouldn't have if _I_ hadn't reminded you." Conan replied in his Cartman-esque voice.

"Good, we're still trying to figure out your storyline and gimmick by the end of this week. We'll have you debut next Tuesday night." Vince said. Axel's green eyes widened.

"I'm debuting next Tuesday?" Axel asked.

"Oh my God!" Conan shouted. "Tuesday night?! …Oh my God!"

"M-hmm." Vince replied. "We might even give you a girl already."

"Oh really?" Conan smirked at Axel.

"Who?" Axel wondered. Vince shook his head.

"Well, we're still not quite sure on that, but don't you worry. We'll have everything ready before the show." He replied.

"Thanks again, Mr. Mc- Vince." And with that, Axel and Conan left the office and made their way to the mens' locker room. On their way, Axel was having a conversation with his invisible friend of all the things he could do. The storylines he could be involved in including making enemies with John Cena, Paul Burchill being his own lacky, him and Triple H having a feud, or even hooking up with Maria. Though, Axel may have forgotten that only he can see his little buddy because as the carried on their merry conversation through the hallway, crew members backstage couldn't help but stare at this new weirdo.

They finally made it into the locker room where a man with slicked back dark brown hair had his back to them and digging through his bag for his elbow pads. Axel cocked his head not recognizing the back of the man's head. As he started to walk over, the man pulled a long red and black, sleeveless, vinyl coat off of a hanger.

"Hey, are you…Kevin Thorn?" Axel asked. The man turned around and looked at him with his ice blue eyes outlined with thin black eyeliner. He smiled.

"Uh, yeah. Kevin Fertig." He reached out and shook Axel's hand. "I don't recognize you though." He said examining Axel's punk attire and the two black streaks in his long, dark red hair.

"I'm Axel Rose. I uh, just finished signing my paperwork."

"Cool. You going on tonight?" Kevin asked.

"Not 'til next Tuesday." Axel suddenly thought of how cool it would be to team up with Kevin Thorn and be a vampire, but obviously that's not what Vince was planning to do with him.

"Oh, well. At least you don't have to wait too long, right?" he responded as he began to put in new adhesive on the inside of his fake fangs.

"Yeah. Right. I mean, Vince was going to pair me up with one of the divas and everything." Axel explained.

"Hmm…I wonder who Vince has in mind." Kevin wondered aloud as he put the fangs carefully on his already sharp canines. "Maybe it's that new girl they got last week. They haven't done anything for her yet either. None of the girls really even talk to her. They said that she just keeps to her self." Kevin shrugged. "I don't know."

Conan looked up at Axel "She sounds sexy." Conan said winking at him. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Axel. Good luck next Tuesday!" Kevin said as he grabbed his skull-topped cane and left.

"You, too, Kevin." Axel managed to say before Kevin had completely gone from sight. Axel turned to look at him self in the mirror. His right eyebrow piercing gleamed in the light. He poked at it. "Hey Conan, do you think that I'm just a total freak?" he asked.

"Why you askin' me?" he asked back. Axel shrugged.

"Well, I don't know. I just don't want these other guys to shun me for being weird." Axel said taking out his black eyeliner pencil and going over the faded lines under his eyes.

"Well," Conan started "let me tell you something. I do think you're a freak, but hey, that's just me." Axel glanced over his shoulder at him. "Well, hey, Kevin seemed to like you okay." Conan reassured. Axel sighed.

"Let's just get to the hotel and I'll order some porn for you or something." Axel smiled putting his pencil away and adjusting his fishnet shirt covering his red muscle shirt.

"Ooh, double blonde, triple X. Now, that sounds like something to watch with some chocolate ice cream." Conan suggested. Axel laughed as he began opening the heavy metal door.

"How did you come from _my_ mind? You're such perv!" Just as Axel pushed open the door, someone smacked right into it.

"Ow! Motherfucker!" she yelled. Axel immediately went around seeing who he had hit. A slender girl sporting an 'Edgar Allen Poe' tank top was sitting on the ground with a book in her hand. Apparently, she'd been reading and not really focusing. Axel looked her up and down, but it wasn't anybody he'd ever seen before.

"Oh my God, you okay?" Axel asked offering to help her up. She stood up, brushed off the front of her shirt and knee-length, black and red pleated skirt, and fixed her now messed up dark auburn hair.

"Fine." She said angrily as she picked up her book. "Idiot." She mumbled under her breath as she shoved past him. As she walked down the hall, Axel couldn't take her eyes off of her.

"Come on, Axel let's go!" Conan said, but Axel didn't move. "Asshole, I'm talking to you!" Still no response. "You promised to get me blonde lesbian porn and ice cream!" he whined.

"Who was that?" Axel finally asked still watching the girl walk away as she went back to reading her book.

"Who knows? Who cares?" Conan got a good grip on Axel's left hand and pulled him. "Let's go! I can't order those videos myself, you know! My hand goes right through the damn remote!" Conan complained as he led Axel out through the halls. All Axel thought was 'My God…who is she?'


	6. Meeting Vince McMahon

Disclaimer: Axel, Conan and other made up characters are mine and a friend's

**Disclaimer: Axel, Conan and other made up characters are mine and a friend's. All WWE characters mentioned are not mine. If you sue me, I will be very unhappy. Axel will comment to open this next chapter again.**

Yes, finally we get into the really good stuff. From here on out there will be love, drama, and more famous superstars! The next couple of chapters are the most memorable in my life, so I'm happy that we've finally come this far! Thank you to those that have read and commented on my story. I'm sure there are those of you that think I'm a "Gary Stu" at this point…. -- … I R not amused by this! Just keep reading. We're not even really half way there yet.

Several days went by and Axel could not get the girl's face out of his mind. She wasn't a diva he had ever seen before. He drew pictures of her, dreamed about her, and every day he went to the arena, he looked all over for her. This had gone on until Monday night in their hotel room in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Conan had had enough of it.

"You asshole!" he screamed "I have had enough of your lovey, dovey crap towards this slut!" Axel fumed.

"Don't you dare call her that!" he yelled.

"I'll call that bitch whatever I feel like! You don't even know her goddamn name!" Conan retorted. Axel clenched his fists and kneeled down to get right in Conan's chalk-white face.

"Call her one more nasty name…I dare you!" he challenged. Conan smirked.

"She's…a…whore!" Conan yelled. Axel jumped him and attempted to put him in the figure four leg-lock. However, Conan's short little legs helped him to escape and climb on Axel's back and start pulling on his hair. Axel fell back squishing Conan under his skull. "Gah!" Conan said getting the wind knocked out of him. "Get…off…me." He gasped wriggling his arms and legs violently to escape. Axel stood up and kicked him into the closet.

Conan rubbed his head and slowly got up. Axel sat down on the bed. "You're off your game, Axel." Conan said walking over to the bed. "We're debuting tomorrow night and all you can think of is that one chick! You need to step it up and forget about her."

"I can't just forget her, man." Axel replied staring down at the floor. "When I saw her, its like, time just stood completely still. You know what I mean?" he asked.

"Uh…no, no I don't." Conan replied climbing up on the bed. "All I know is that tomorrow, you have to stay focused! We worked way too hard to get here and throw it all away for some girl who you'll never see again." Axel smiled. He realized that for once, Conan was right.

"You know what, Conan. You're right. I shouldn't get so worked up over some chick. I've got more important things to think about." Axel replied.

"Besides, tomorrow morning, we get to know what you're doing…not to mention who you're getting paired up with." Conan quirked his eyebrow. Axel chuckled.

"Yeah, I had almost forgot about that." Axel looked over at the clock. It read 11:50 pm. "Maybe we should get to bed. We've got an important job to do." Axel threw off his Doc Martins and changed out of his jeans and into his black pajama pants. "Goodnight, Conan." Axel said as he and his friend crawled into bed and turned out the light.

"G'night, Axel."

THE NEXT MORNING...(backstage at 10 am)

Axel and Conan walked in to the locker room and Axel dropped off his bag to try to find Vince and figure out what he was supposed to do. The locker room was completely empty except for his bag and two others when they left. They went straight into Vince's office and found him shuffling through papers. Beside him was a girl no older than her early thirties or so with a bright orange, pixie haircut.

"Ah, Axel." Vince looked up from the papers on his desk. "Come on in." Axel did so. "Axel, I want you to meet Adrianne Collins. Adrianne, this is Axel Rose."

"Nice to meet you." Adrianne said shaking Axel's hand.

"You, too." He replied.

"She's one of our head writers. She helps figure out storylines, gimmicks, and what not and she's got a great idea for you and your partner." Vince said.

"Well, she won't exactly be his partner." She injected. "She'll be more like his boss." Axel was now really confused.

"My…boss?" he looked at her quizzically.

"We already paged Lenore in here so we can discuss tonight's event." She said. "Once she's in here, I'll explain every—"At that moment, the same girl Axel had met last week was standing in the door frame. Vince motioned her to come in.

"Come on in, Miss Levy." He said. A bell suddenly went off in Axel's head. He had heard that name somewhere before. He just couldn't place it. Lenore Levy walked in wearing a similar outfit to the one she had worn the previous week: Edgar Allen Poe tank top with a long pleated skirt and combat boots.

"Okay," Adrianne began, "So, first off, Lenore, this is Axel. Axel, Lenore." Axel turned to look at her and smiled. She simply glanced over and turned back to Adrianne. "Heh…Alright then." The tension in the room was unbearable, but she fought through it. "Anyway, Lenore, we've decided to give you a similar role similar to your father's and have Axel play the role similar to Michael Manna's."

Immediately it clicked. Lenore Levy must be Scott Levy's daughter. Years ago, in the original ECW, Scott Levy played the part of Raven, a misunderstood tough, quiet guy who was in in-depth feuds with Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman with his lackey, Stevie Richards "The Original King of Swing", played by Michael Manna. Axel was stunned. He was going to be stuck playing number two to this girl that already couldn't stand the sight of him. However, Lenore wasn't too happy about the new storyline either.

"Excuse me?" Lenore asked. "I waited for weeks to get my gimmick and this is what you arrived at?" In a way, Axel was relieved that she was having problems with the storyline as well.

"Well, Lenore, with your father being back on ECW with Arriella, I say why not?" Adrianne defended.

"I don't want to play my father! I want to do something…" she looked at Axel in disgust, "without _him_."

"Hey!" Axel tried standing up for himself.

"Shut up!" she yelled at him. Axel quickly backed down.

"You see?" Vince interrupted. "That is perfect! You two just have great chemistry together! It's perfect!" Lenore opened her mouth to start complaining again, but Vince cut her off. "And if you complain about this one more time, you're gone, Miss Levy." He warned. Lenore closed her mouth and crossed her arms glaring at him. Vince looked right at Axel who at this point didn't even really want to be in the room. "Axel, what do you think?" he asked.

Axel looked between Vince, Lenore, Adrianne, and Conan and sighed. "Well," he looked back at Lenore, her dark brown eyes bearing into his skull. It seemed as if she wanted his head to explode…like Scanners. "I…like it." Axel managed to say. Conan looked up at him and chuckled.

"Kiss ass." Conan said shaking his head. Axel figured it would be best to not argue with the chairman of the company and head writer. He didn't completely like the storyline idea much either, though.

"See?" Adrianne said smiling at Lenore. "Now, I know it wouldn't be your first choice—"

"Far from it." Lenore mumbled.

"But, we like the look of you two together." Adrianne continued. Axel's heart was pounding so hard, his chest began to ache. Lenore scoffed. "Besides, we can always change your guys' gimmick and storyline later. We just need something to get your images out there to the audience, you know what I'm saying?"

Lenore sighed. "Alright." She looked Axel up and down.

"Hey, man she's checking you out." Conan whispered. "It's like she's undressing you with her eyes." He said snickering. Axel glared at him.

"Conan, shut up." Axel said. He had just then realized that he had just said that out loud and everyone was now staring blankly at him. "Uh…I…"

"Freak." Lenore mumbled. She turned to Vince. " I'll see you later, Vince, Adrianne…Axel." She said as she left the office. Adrianne turned to Axel.

"Don't worry, Axel. I'm sure she'll come around." She said reassuringly. She glanced down at her watch. "Actually, I've got a meeting to get to in a few minutes, but it was great to meet you, Axel." She said shaking his hand before leaving the office.

"Well, you've got plenty of time before the show. Try to find Michael." Vince suggested. "He can help you get into character." Axel nodded, thanked the two of them and left the office to find Michael Manna a.k.a. Stevie Richards.


	7. So Close

Disclaimer: Same as the other chapters

**Disclaimer: Same as the other chapters. Hopefully, by the end of this chapter things will really start to pick up! Actually, this chapter's going to go really fast so I can get to where I really want to be with this thing! So strap yourselves in!**

It took forever until Axel finally found Michael/Stevie. He was very nice, but to Axel's surprise, he was geeky. When he found him, Mike was wearing his glasses, small screwdriver in hand, reprogramming his ipod touch.

Mike told him all that he needed to know about how he should act as his new character with Lenore. He also mentioned to Axel that his new storyline probably won't last long before the roles are either switched or they give him a better gimmick. Axel asked that I don't go into complete detail of the next couple of hours until him and Lenore came out to the ring. Nothing really happened before that, so here we go…

The too familiar "What About Me?" theme started confusing the crowd immensely. As Vince watched faithfully in the production truck, a smile spread across his face. The crowd's reaction was perfect. They were unsure if it was Raven gone back to his old theme. Lenore came out through the dark curtain with Axel following closely behind.

"Connor," Vince said leaning over one of the production crew member's shoulders. "try to get more red lighting on the ring." Connor, the twenty-year-old production assistant rolled his eyes as he adjusted the lighting with two of the many white sliders on the control panel. "Perfect." Vince stated. Connor flipped his brown and purple streaked hair out of his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Lenore finally climbed into the ring followed by Axel who acted like a hyper little monkey boy not unlike the old Stevie Richards. Lenore glared at him and grabbed a microphone from one of the staff at the side of the ring and began her first official promo.

"Many of you out there may have seen me before in matches earlier this month. Let me just clarify on thing. My name is Lenore." Axel got his own microphone and cut in.

"And I'm Axel!" he said happily. Lenore looked at him and smacked him.

"Shut up, Rose." She warned. Axel nodded.

"Okay." He replied. She soon went back to her speech.

"I know you must be wondering 'who the hell is she?'. I happen to have the displeasure of being…Raven's only daughter!" gasps came from the audience and they all started to clamor amongst themselves. "Yes," Lenore rolled her eyes. She did not want to say the next phrase. Hopefully, her father's music would start and cut her off. "So it is written…and so it shall come to pass." She finished 'Dammit!' she thought.

Raven's theme started and he made his way down the ramp, Ariella holding onto his arm. Once they got there, their argument seemed to go on forever. Axel was starting to think that he should just quit while he was ahead. He didn't really get to talk the entire time yet both Arri and Raven got equal time to talk. Lenore would give Axel a look as if to tell him to keep his mouth shut until they were done.

After what seemed like forever, Lenore and Axel finally left the ring and went backstage. Axel was angry, but annoyed with how his debut turned out.

"Lenore, I want to talk to you about—" Lenore turned around and cut him off before he could finish.

"No. I'm just fighting through this stupid storyline with you until Vince gets a better idea for me. Until then, you are nothing but part of the background in this gimmick!" she turned around and started to walk off.

"That bitch!" Conan shouted. Axel followed her.

"Look, this storyline wasn't my first choice either, but your dad gave Stevie time to talk." Axel defended.

"Well, I'm not my dad am I? Thank God." She stopped and glared at him. "If you bring up that bastard in a conversation with me again, I will hurt you." Lenore threatened. Axel couldn't believe what he was hearing. The scariest part was he was going to be working with this girl until Vince changed his mind. God knows how long that will take.

Lenore turned back around and walked into the girl's locker room. Conan tugged on Axel's hand. "Maybe, that bitch isn't the one, Axel." He said. Axel shook his head. "What?!" Conan shouted.

"I don't know what it is, man. It's just," Axel sighed. "there's something about her and can't…bring myself to give up on her." Conan rolled his eyes.

"Well, when she stabs you in the neck for trying to ask her out, don't come crying to me. You got it?" Conan asked as the two went into the mens' locker room to change.

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…

Things between Lenore and Axel hadn't gotten any better. Axel, being the headstrong person that he is, would try to talk during the promos and speeches only to get either slapped or punched by an angry Lenore. Axel had also tried multiple times to talk to her and become friends behind the scenes, but Lenore could care less.

ONE WEEK EARLIER…

Axel was in the locker room packing up his bag when he heard something. "Axel," It was Scott Levy. "I want to talk to you for a second." Axel stopped what he was doing and did as he asked. "I know you've been trying to get friendly with my daughter."

"Sir, I—" Axel tried to explain.

"Let me finish." He said. "I don't want you getting anywhere near my little girl. Understand?" Axel nodded. "Good. If I see you trying to put on the moves…well," he chuckled "you don't want to find out." Axel gulped. If Lenore wasn't scary, her father definitely was.

BACK TO THE PRESENT…

Lenore had all the control over Axel she could ever want.

"Axel, get my boots!" she ordered. "God, you take forever! Move!" she would yell shoving him out of the way. Things went on like that every night they would see each other. Not to mention the one main thing that would upset Axel the most, when Lenore would complain about her dad. Unfortunately, Axel just couldn't find the courage to say anything. Then one night, after a bad match of Lenore losing badly to Arri…

"Goddamn it!" Lenore screamed kicking her bag. "I hate it when she makes me look weak in the ring!" she complained. Axel rolled his eyes as he rubbed his bruised arm from where she had punched him earlier that night. All that Axel heard while Lenore stuffed her bag was more like, "Whine n' bitch. Whine n' bitch. Whine n' bitch. Whine n' bitch. Whine n' bitch." Axel sighed and dragged his hand down his face in frustration.

"Why my stupid, son of a bitch father married her is beyond me!" she yelled. Axel slammed his hand into one of the lockers. He had had enough.

"Shut up!" Lenore immediately stopped and looked at him. She had never seen him this way and it was…frightening. "You know what, Lenore!" he said advancing towards her. "I have had it with you talking shit about your dad! I'm absolutely sick of it! You don't even know how lucky you are!" he screamed cornering her.

"Oh is that right?" she asked. "And why's that?" she replied angrily. Axel's voice started to crack.

"Because I lost my father!" he yelled. His eyes began to well up with tears. The room was now dead quiet. All that could be heard was Axel breathing heavily. Axel turned away and grabbed his own bag. Lenore sighed.

"Axel…" she began, "what…what happened to him?" she asked taking her back away from the locker. Axel sighed and wiped his eyes.

"When I was young, he…was killed in a car accident." He flung the strap of his bag over his shoulder and turned to face her. "I just couldn't stand it when you would say things like that about your dad. I mean, he may not have been around when you were little, but he wants to be with you now." Lenore tried to focus her attention on something other than those hypnotizing, glossy, green eyes of his.

"At least you have a father to look out for you. I only had mine for seven years." Axel wiped away a tear traveling down his left cheek. "But it doesn't matter…Lenore, I—" he was suddenly cut-off by Scott opening the door.

"Hey, Arri, Mike, and I are going to the dance bar down the street. You two want to join us?" he asked. Axel nodded.

"Sure." He replied unenthusiastically. He walked out the door to join Ariella and Mike. Scott looked at his daughter with an interesting look on her face.

"You…want to come with us?" he asked. She nodded and left. Something about her just seemed different.

AT THE BAR…

Mike had brought his laptop and was chatting with his cyber buddies on his electronic website as Scott danced with Arri and Lenore, now loopy from downing several drinks, danced alone. Axel was sitting at the bar drinking a stormy weather (2 ounces dark rum, 10 ounces Ginger beer, and 1 dash Rose's Lime Juice).

"Conan, I've never been more embarrassed." Axel confessed to his invisible buddy sitting on the bar stool beside him.

"Why?" he asked. Axel took another swig of his drink.

"I told her something that I never like to talk about. Conan, it was like a damn soap opera in there!" Axel said. He wasn't realizing that he was talking to Conan so openly. He was definitely getting looks.

"Asshole, I was there, remember? Listen, go dance with her." He suggested. "She's dancing all alone and she looks really buzzed." Axel sighed.

"Think I should?" he asked. The song was just about ending.

"Do it! What have you got lose?" Conan asked quirking an eyebrow.

"My dignity." Axel finished the rest of his drink and stood up. "I'm going." Axel said walking over to her.

"Seems about right." Conan replied turning around in his seat to watch. As Axel began to walk over, the song "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin came on leaving Lenore standing there. She turned to Axel as he stopped in front of her. He held out a hand to her.

"May I have this dance?" he offered. She looked at his hand, then back at him and placed her hand in his. He led her a little further onto the dance floor putting a hand on her waist as she put her hand on his shoulder.

_You're in my arms_

_And all the world is gone_

_The music playing on_

_For only two_

_So close together_

_And when I'm with you_

_So close to feeling alive_

They began dancing just a little faster. Their eyes fixed on each others'.

_A life goes by_

_Romantic dreams must die_

_So I bid mine goodbye_

_And never knew _

_So close was waiting_

_Waiting here with you_

_And now, forever, I know_

_All that I want is to hold you_

_So close_

_So close to reaching_

_That famous happy ending_

_Almost believing_

_This one's not pretend_

_Now you're beside me_

They moved closer and Axel quietly sang along.

_And look how far we've come_

_So far_

_We are_

_So close..._

They moved apart and began to dance with a series of spins, dips, and twirls around the dance floor. Scott and Arri stopped and watched them dance so elegantly together.

_Oh, how could I face the faceless days_

_If I should lose you now?_

They slowed back down and Lenore rested her head on his chest as he cradled her head with his hand. His other hand rested on her back, keeping her close.

_We're so close to reaching_

_That famous happy ending_

_Almost believing_

_This one's not pretend_

_Let's go on dreaming_

_Though we know we are_

_So close_

_So close, and still_

_So far..._

As the song ended, they stared into each others' eyes and slowly began to move in, but she quickly left him on the dance floor and sat at the bar. Axel sighed. They really were so close.

It took nearly a minute until Axel finally got off the dance floor and head for the bar with Lenore who was resting her head in her arms.

"You okay?" he asked. Lenore looked up and shook her head.

"Can you take me back to my room? I don't feel so great." Lenore replied. Axel nodded and helped her out of the bar and across the street to their hotel. When they arrived at the door of the room, Lenore took out her card key from her pocket and unlocked the door. She opened the door about half way before she nearly collapsed. Axel just barely caught her.

He took her in his arms and set her down on the bed. He went into the bathroom and came back with a cool damp washcloth setting it on her warm forehead.

"Thanks." Lenore whispered.

"No problem." Axel replied. It was quiet for a moment. "Well, I guess I'll uh…see you later then." He said starting to walk out of the room.

"Axel, wait." She said. He stopped and looked at her. "Do you think…do you think you could stay until Arri and my dad get back?" she asked. Axel smiled.

"Sure." He replied lying next to her on the bed. Lenore got nervous.

"Axel, I don't want to—"she began.

"I won't." he reassured. Lenore sighed and snuggled up next to him and put her arms around his waist. Axel chuckled and wrapped his arms around her holding her close as if not to lose her. The both of them quickly dozed off.

An hour later, Scott and Arri opened the door to find Axel and Lenore sound asleep. Scott shook his head and walked over to the bed.

"Axel," he said shaking his shoulder lightly, "Axel, wake up." Axel turned over and nearly jumped seeing Scott in his face.

"Mr. Levy, I'm so sorry. She wasn't feeling well and she wanted me to bring her back to her room." Axel explained waking the sleepy Lenore beside him.

"Come on, let's go." Scott motioned. Axel got up. "I don't trust you sleeping in here." Scott told him.

Axel looked back down at Lenore who was only half-awake. Axel leaned down and kissed her lips softly. He then whispered into her ear, "I love you." He pulled away and looked at Lenore's face. A small smile formed on her lips and mouthed, "I love you, too." Axel's heart pounded hard in his chest. He was officially on cloud nine.

Him and Scott left Arri and Lenore and went to their own room where Axel would be met by a happy dream-filled night.


	8. Room Service in Spanish

Disclaimer: …same as the other seven chapters

**Disclaimer: …same as the other seven chapters**

The next morning, Axel slowly opened his eyes. He staggered out of bed over to the coffee maker on the desk on the other side of the room. His eyes were only half open as he pressed the start button. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Conan moaned as he too rolled out of bed, but haphazardly fell face-first onto the floor.

"Ow." Conan said still lying on the floor. Axel didn't bother to look over. He just stood there watching the steaming coffee drip into his cup. "Some night, huh?" Conan asked slowly getting up.

"Yeah…I guess." Axel replied scratching his head. Truthfully, he couldn't even remember what happened the night before. Conan sluggishly walked over.

"Knowing you, you probably don't remember." He said. Axel shook his head. "Asshole." Axel looked at him confused. Conan climbed up onto the desk.

"What? What did I do?" He asked quietly, trying not to wake up Scott.

"You and Lenore…duh." Conan replied flicking Axel's forehead.

"Ow." It took him a minute, but everything suddenly came back to him: The bar, the dance, and the kiss. Axel smiled. "She loves me." He said rather proud.

"No, she doesn't." Conan replied pulling out Axel's full cup of coffee and taking a drink. "She was drunk."

"Well, yeah, but…" Conan quirked an eyebrow at him, "No, I know she really does. I refuse to believe-"

"You can refuse all you want, but listen to me." Conan set to cup down and took a hold of Axel's shoulders. "Lenore…does not…and more than likely will not…love you." Axel shoved his little white hands off his shoulders and went back to his bag to change.

Axel thought that maybe somewhere deep down, Lenore does feel something for him. At the moment, he refused to believe that she didn't really mean what she had said to him that night.

Later that day, after a two hour trip to the next location, Axel saw Lenore sitting on the ground reading _The Greatest Collection of Edgar Allen Poe_. He took a deep breath before taking a seat beside her. She rolled her eyes and shifted an inch or two away from him.

"Hey, Lenore." He kindly greeted. She glanced at him, but quickly turned her attention back to her book. "I uh…I had a good time last night."

"That's good for you." She replied unenthusiastically. Axel looked at Conan who was smirking at him. He was leaning against the wall, one leg crossed over the other. Axel didn't want Conan to be right about their conversation back at the hotel.

"Do you…do you remember anything from last night?" Axel asked hesitantly.

"No." she quickly replied. Axel could feel his heart beginning to tear.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yup." She again answered quickly. He still couldn't believe it.

"Do you remember what you told me after I brought you back to the room?" he asked hoping to jog her memory.

"No. Axel, I was fucking drunk, okay?" she snapped. "How could I remember?" she asked him. He shrugged. "Idiot." She mumbled. At that moment, Axel's heart ripped in two. He stood up and began to make his way back to the locker room.

"I guess you were right, Conan. She doesn't really love me, huh?" Axel said trying his best not to make a scene. Conan patted his leg as he followed.

"Yeah…But hey, things can't get any worse." Just then, the locker room door was opened by Deuce and Domino, the less attractive and ignorant 50's greasers. Those two can pretty much be described as two halves of a whole idiot. Deuce always had a strange look on his face making it seem like he constantly had something shoved up his nose. Domino, although better looking than his buddy, had a nose comparable to Triple H's. However, they weren't alone. Following close behind was a man about the same height and age as Axel. As he turned his head between his two moronic friends, his long, slick black hair came over his shoulders.

Axel froze in shock as the man's brown almost orange eyes met his piercing green ones. It was his hated rival, Alexander Valentine. Alexander, too froze when he saw Axel standing in the hallway.

"You?!" Alexander asked confused.

"You!" Axel screamed tackling Alexander and the boys began beating the ever living out of each other. Lenore marked her book and jumped up to hold Axel back as Deuce and Domino started to get a grip on Alexander's arms. The commotion obviously wouldn't go unheard. Shane McMahon, the chairman's son and next in line for ownership of WWE, came running down the hall.

"What is going on here?" he asked angrily.

"This son-of-a-bitch attacked me!" Alexander complained.

"Shut the hell up, you stupid-" Axel tried to comeback, but was instantly cut off.

"All of you shut up!" Shane yelled. "Calm down." He waited a few seconds for it to get quiet. Lenore, Deuce and Domino still held the two men from killing each other. "Now, I don't care who started what or why, but if there are any more outbursts like this, I can make sure you guys are let go…permanently." Shane looked at Alexander.

"You have your debut tonight as Nightmare." He said. He then turned his attention to Axel and Lenore. "You two have your own match tonight as well. So, knock it off!" He warned walking back to his father's office. Just what Axel needed, more trouble. Deuce and Domino let go of Alexander's arms and he brushed himself off. He gave him a hard, cold stare before turning and walking down the corridor to the curtain.

Lenore let go of Axel. "What the hell was that all about?" she asked sitting back down to continue reading.

"That was my rival, Alexander Valentine. The last time I saw him was back in high school. I'm surprised that WWE even hired him. He's crazy." Axel said. Conan was wrong things had just gotten much worse.

"Says the grown man with an imaginary friend."

"Hey!" Conan retorted.

"But whatever." She figured to change the subject. "I'm changing your gimmick." Conan chuckled.

"Heh, thank God! I was getting sick of those chucky pale theighs!" Conan stated. Axel did his best not to say anything or hit him for saying that.

"You, you're what?" Axel asked.

"It's stupid. The Daisy Duke shorts…no, you're going to model after Erik Draven from _The Crow_." They only partnered up no more than a month and a half and already she was changing his gimmick. Axel enjoyed that movie, but didn't like the idea of all that make-up.

"Seriously?" he asked. She nodded not looking up from her book as she turned the page. "But doesn't Erik have a crow?" he asked. Lenore marked her page and turned to reveal a big cage with a big black bird sitting on the perch. Axel hadn't noticed it that whole time they were out in the hallway.

"Yup." She replied opening the cage and pulling out the bird.

"Shit! I thought she was totally kidding!" Conan yelled in surprise.

She gently stroked its back. "This is Edgar and you will be entering the ring with him." Axel furiously shook his head.

"No way!"

"You afraid of birds?" she asked mockingly.

"Chicky, you have no idea." Conan said laughing. Axel glared at him.

"Yes, I had a very bad experience with those winged demons!" he yelled, "I am not entering with that crow!"

"He's a raven." She said.

"Whatever. They're big black birds that peck out peoples' eyeballs. What's the difference?" he asked.

"One is bigger than the other. That's the difference." She said starting to get agitated. "So, tell me, would you rather wear those short shorts for a few more years or would you rather wear the Erik Draven costume?" Lenore asked. Axel sighed looking down at the shorts he was wearing.

"I guess I'd rather be Erik." Axel replied. He had just about enough of the cropped shirts and short jean shorts. Unfortunately, the long sleeved black shirt and heavy make-up was going to be hell under those bright lights

"Now, you need to get used to holding Edgar." She said placing the raven on his shoulder.

"That bird looks about as big as me!" Conan said staring at the large, black bird.

"Man, its heavy. How much does it weigh?" he asked.

"_He_ weighs about ten pounds." She replied. Axel was surprised.

"Ten pounds?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"No, he weighs ten pickles. Yes, ten pounds!" she yelled. Just then, Edgar bit Axel's right ear hard.

"Ow!" he screamed putting his hand to his ear making sure it wasn't bleeding. "I already have enough piercings! I don't need another one!" he yelled pointing at the two piercings on his right ear and the one on his left. Lenore pointed at the one on his right eyebrow.

"It's a little embarrassing that you and my dad have the same eyebrow piercing."

"You think I did it on purpose?" he asked. Lenore shrugged and Axel began trying to stroke Edgar with his index and middle finger.

"Yeah, knowing you, you probably _did_ do that on purpose." She replied.

"Ow! Dammit!" Axel screamed again. Edgar bit his finger, drawing blood. "Get this bird off of me, please." He said impatiently. Lenore took the bird away and set him on her own shoulder instead. "Shit." He said putting his bleeding finger in his mouth.

"Don't be such a baby." She said stroking her feathered companion. "Yes, he's stupid isn't he, Edgar?" she asked her bird. Axel rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know." She said in a sweet tone. Axel took his finger out of his mouth and examined it. The bleeding had slowed, but the area around cut was still a darker shade of pink.

"Dammit," he said moving his finger checking if it still worked, "it better have gotten its shots." He said angrily as he began to dig around in his bag for a band-aid. Lenore gave him a dirty look.

"_He_ has had his shots, thank you." Lenore said agitated that Axel kept calling her faithful pet "it". Axel pulled out a band-aid, tore away the paper, and wrapped it on his injured index finger. He moved it one more time before pulling out the gay Stevie-esque outfit to change for his match. He was actually relieved that this was the last match he would be wearing this outfit. He turned to look at Lenore who was kissing Edgar's beak. He smiled and went back to change.

After their match, Axel immediately ripped his shirt down the middle in a Hulk Hogan fashion. Lenore simply rolled her eyes and secretly tried not to smile. The two went back the mens' and womens' locker rooms to get into their casual wear and grab their bags. They met in the hallway and didn't say a word the whole time they headed for the exit. Halfway down the hall, they ran into Alexander leaned up against the wall. A smirk spread across his face.

Axel clenched his fist. "Axel, ignore him. He's not worth shit." She whispered to him as they began to pass him.

"Man, I say, you punch his face in! Screw what she just said!" Conan happily suggested.

"Hey, sexy," Alexander called out. "How 'bout you meet me back in_ my_ room and I can show you a good time?" he asked. Axel whipped around.

"Oh no he di' int!" Conan yelled.

"Leave her alone, you jackass!" he yelled.

"That's tellin' him." Conan said sarcastically.

"Axel, forget it." Lenore said pulling his arm to get him walking again, but he didn't budge. "If he wants to be an asshole, then let him." Alexander chuckled.

"I'm an asshole?" he asked getting off the wall and slapping her on the ass. Conan gasped. Immediately, Axel threw a punch right in the nose and Alexander fell. As he fell, he hit the back of his head on the brick wall behind him. Lenore grabbed Axel's arm tight and managed to pull him to the end of the hallway.

"Jerk." Axel mumbled.

"Oh my God. Dude, that was totally awesome!" Conan exclaimed smiling up at him. Axel completely ignored him.

"Axel, you didn't have to do that. I can take care of myself." She defended. Axel looked at her quizzically.

"You don't deserve that at all, Lenore and you know it!" he yelled.

"Are you sure? 'Cause growing up without my dad sure didn't make me fell like I was worth anything." She said. He was now confused.

"You what?" he asked. Lenore just sighed.

"Nevermind." It was silent as they walked over to the bus stop and waited for the shuttle to take them to the hotel. Conan sat down on the curb and got comfortable. After what seemed like an eternity, Axel cleared his throat.

"I grew up without a dad, too." He said. Lenore shook her head.

"You don't understand." She replied. Not wanting to pry, Axel nodded and left it at that. Again silence came between the two of them. Conan fell asleep on the sidewalk next to Axel's foot. Finally, Lenore spoke up. "Um…sorry." Axel was surprised she was apologizing to him for anything.

"For what?" he asked.

"What happened to your father?" she asked. "You don't have to answer if you don't—"

"No, it's okay. Um, well, I had this brain tumor right? Well, one night my head hurt horribly and I was taken to the hospital to get the tumor removed. But long story short, my dad worked late and got into a car accident on the way to the hospital to see me." Axel glanced at her and down at sleeping Conan. "He didn't make it…I was eight years-old." Lenore nodded.

She kind of felt bad for him, but didn't really know what to say to this. She just nodded and the shuttle pulled up. Lenore climbed on the shuttle as Axel picked Conan up and boarded as well. Lenore just stared at him confused at what he was doing, but didn't bother to ask. He must just be insane, she figured.

Axel sat down next to her and gently set Conan on the seat on the other side of him. Conan curled up into a ball and continued to sleep until they got to their hotel. Now, Mr. McMahon accidentally put Axel and Lenore in the same hotel room that evening and both Scott and Arri were unaware of this. So when they received their keys, they were surprised that they were for the same room. Oh well, two queen beds. Who cares?

They dropped their bags on the floor and Axel and Conan fell onto one of the beds. Lenore dug through her bag and pulled out her wallet and her version 4 black nano ipod with red gummy earbuds. She started to open the door when Axel suddenly sat up.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"They have a work-out room on the first floor. I'll be back later." She replied shutting the door behind her. Axel sighed. Conan sat up.

"Whachya thinkin', asshole?" he asked.

"I want to do something special for her, Conan. I just don't know what to do." Axel said. Conan pointed at the TV.

"How about ordering gay porn?" he suggested. "Chicks like the gay stuff."

"No!" Axel replied. "I'm not buying her porn! I meant like, something heart felt."

"Bleh!" Conan replied. "Count me out." He said yawning. Suddenly, the light bulb turned on in Axel's head. He slowly turned and smiled at Conan. "What?" he asked feeling rather uncomfortable by the way Axel was looking at him.

"How about a movie?" he asked. Conan smiled and nodded. "Music?" Conan nodded again.

"Yeah?"

"Room service?" Conan stood up.

"I like the room service!"

"Candles and Champagne?" Conan frowned.

"Dude, I don't play for that team." Conan said.

"Not for you!" Axel yelled "For Lenore! It's perfect!" Axel exclaimed standing up. Conan nodded not looking quite as excited as before.

"Yeah, that's fun I guess."

"I got to get to the phone!" Axel tried dashing to the phone to order the room service, but failed by tripping first. He quickly got back up and dialed the number.

"That was graceful." Conan commented sarcastically.

"Yeah, hi. I want to order room service please…Room service. Room. Service. Dammit." Axel sounded frustrated as the person at the front desk couldn't understand English that well.

"What?" Conan asked.

"I have to use my Spanish skills." He replied. "Quiero ordenar el servicio de habitaciones, por favor…" Conan's head shot up in shock. "Ah, la sopa de fideos de pollo, dos órdenes de um, el bistec." Conan shook his head in disbelief.

"Did you press the SAP button on the remote a few minutes ago?" Conan asked. Axel continued.

"…Me gustaría que a medio raras, por favor ... eso es todo ... gracias." And he hung up the phone. Axel rubbed his temples as Conan stared with his mouth open. "What?" Axel asked. Conan said nothing. "I took three years of that stupid language in high school. Not my fault I still remember all that."

"Can you speak Swahili?" Conan asked.

"Yes, Conan because now a days they teach Swahili in American high schools." He replied.

"You don't need to get sassy!" Conan said. "Can you speak anything else?"

"Uh, I can speak a little French. Learned it freshman year." He replied scratching his head and sitting back down on the bed.

"Oh! Can you say 'my pants are on fire'?" Conan asked.

"Uh…Mon…pantalon est en…feu. I think." Conan laughed.

"How about Greek? Or Korean?" Axel shook his head. "I can speak German." Conan said proudly. Axel looked skeptical.

"No way."

"Uh-huh. Give me something to say." Conan said. Axel thought a moment.

"Say…I love the smell of pickled pig feet in bed." Conan laughed.

"Okay. Here goes…Ich liebe den geruch von gebeizt schwein füße im bett." Axel cracked up laughing.

"Holy shit! How did you learn that?" he asked.

"I couldn't understand a word those German people were saying in this one video I watched once. So, I thought I learn what they were saying…there weren't any gay subtitles on it for some reason." Conan explained. Axel tried to stop laughing.

"I'm…I'm utterly amazed, man. That's so cool." And so for the next several minutes, they said different stupid phrases in their second languages until room service arrived.


	9. It's All In Your Head

Disclaimer: Must I repeat myself? i don't own anything WWE...except my OC's. Vince owns the wrestlers...but not for long...Mwhahahaha! JK. Shane'll do that soon i hope. He's so much cooler.

Just as Axel had ordered nearly half and hour ago, medium rare stake, chicken noodle soup, and complimentary rolls. The man wheeled in the cart and left after given a gracious tip. Axel sighed. "Okay, I've got food," he looked over at the ihome player on the nightstand and plugged in his U2 black and red ipod, "music is all set..."

Conan scratched his head. "What are we going to do about the candles? Obviously, we don't want to start a fire..." he smirked. "Well, maybe you don't, but..."

"Conan, I am not letting you set the hotel on fire!" Axel replied.

"Dammit." he grumbled. Axel pondered for a moment and went over to his bag to begin looked for something. Conan, confused, walked over to see just what he was doing.

"Aha! Got it!" Axel announced pulling out a large black flashlight.

"A flashlight?" Conan asked skeptically. "What are you supposed to do with that?" Axel pushed the switch on the flashlight bringing it to life and turned off the lamp lighting the room. "Okay, now you made it very dark, asshole." Axel went over to the table and set the flashlight facing upward toward the ceiling creating a dim, yet romantic setting.

"What do you think?" Axel asked.

Conan nodded. "Hmm. Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Conan, go out into the hallway and tell me when Lenore comes."

"Alright." Conan replied going through the door to wait for her. He immediately poked his head back in. "She's here already!" Conan shouted. Axel jumped and pulled a crest quick brush out of his pocket. He slipped the strip on his finger and brushed his already pearly teeth frantically. Just as he heard the clicking of the lock on door outside, he chucked the used slip into the trash can and brushed off the front of his shirt.

The door opened to reveal and exhausted Lenore. She had her head down as she closed the door and took the earbuds of her ipod out of her ears.

"God, I feel like a cow!" She complained. "i must have lost like, 15 pounds." She looked up and couldn't believe what she saw. Axel smiled. Lenore brushed a strand of hair in her face behind her ear. She looked around the room in amazment.

"Axel, what--" she chuckled.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I...Is this...Did you do this...for me?" She asked nearly speechless.

Axel nodded. "Yeah." Lenore was in bewilderment by this sweet gesture. No man, no person had ever done something like this for her. She had grown up distrusting everyone thinking that no one really cared about her. And because of her father leaving her before she was even born, Lenore despised men believing they were just pigs, only thinking of sex or boobs. She finally realized, maybe he wasn't one of those people. Perhaps he was that one person that actually saw her for who she was.

"Well, uh. I'm kinda sweaty." she replied. "i'm gonna clean up really quick." she said going into the bathroom and locking the door. Axel smiled and looked at Conan standing beside him.

"Conan, just for tonight, can you do me a favor?" he asked.

"That depends." he replied slyly.

"Can Lenore and I...be alone, please?" he asked.

"What?"

"Please." Axel asked "Can you leave us alone?"

Conan hesitated and nodded. "Yeah. I guess I'll sit in the hallway tonight." he said making his way for the door.

"Thanks, man. I promise to tell you everything tomorrow morning." Axel promised.

Conan stopped and turned around. "I except you to give me excruciating detail if you two 'screw around'." he said making quotes.

Axel blushed and shoved him out the door. "Get out of here!" Axel yelled.

"Axel's gonna get him some! Oh, yeah!" Conan hollered on the other side of the door. Axel rolled his eyes and sighed. Soon the bathroom door opened and Lenore made a transformation. She no longer had beads of sweat on the side of her face, but foundation and powder and a touch up of her eye liner and grey eyeshadow. How her hair looked clean was a mystery.

"So, who are you yelling at?" Lenore asked walking over to the table.

"Oh, no one." he replied. he didn't really feel like telling her about Conan just yet. They both sat down and drove right into the juicy steak and soup. "Say, Lenore,"

"Yeah?"

"How did you get cleaned up so fast?" Axel asked. Most girls he knew took forever to get ready for anything.

She smiled. "Oh, it's a little trick my mom taught me." she replied giving him a quick wink. What happened to her? About a half and hour ago she hated his guts and now she's flirting with him. Axel began slurpping a long think noodle.

"Axel?" she asked.

"Huh?" he replied, the noodle half way in his mouth.

Lenore chuckled. "You always yell and talk to something. Is that like your imaginary friend or somthing?" she asked. Axel swallowed the rest of the noodle.

"Or somthing." he replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The next time WWE goes to New York I'll show you. But if you want to know now, the best way I can explain it is that...my imaginary friend can only be seen or heard by me." Axel stated. He didn't know of any other way to explain it to her. It was such a complicated explaination. Lenore shrugged.

"Maybe it's all in your head, Axel." She suggested before taking a bite of steak. "Are you sure you don't just have some kind of mental disorder?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure." he replied taking a drink of water.

"I mean, i don't mean to sound rude--"

"No, no. It's okay. I know what you mean." he said reassuringly flashing a quick side smile. Axel slurpped up more of the thick noodles in his soup. Lenore was half way through the steak, but she too took a slurp of noodles.

"Okay, my turn to ask a question." Axel said.

"Okay." Lenore replied drinking some of the broth in the bowl.

"What's with you and your dad? I mean, what happened between you two?" he asked.

Lenore sighed and looked away.

"You don't have to answer that if--"

"No, it's just that...that's a really personal question. I...I like you, Axel, but I don't know if I want to tell you that story right now." She said.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. i'm not upset or anything, but I just don't want to talk about it." Lenore said looking back at him.

Axel nodded. "I understand." he replied. it got quiet between the two as they continued eating. They had just finished when Axel stood up and walked over to the ihome and scrolled through his "artist list".

"What are you doing, Axel?" Lenore asked.

"Remember when I asked you if you remembered anything from yesterday?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, you and i danced together and i happen to have the same song on my ipod." Before the song could actually start, he pushed the table out the way to give them more space. He then went back over to the ipod and pushed the play button and started playing "So Close." Lenore smiled as the intro started. Axel casually walked over to the bed where she sat and offered his hand to her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

Lenore put her own slender hand in his. "Yes." she whispered as she stood. He took her into the middle of the room putting one hand on her waist and the other tightly cupped her hand as she put her free hand on his shoulder.

_You're in my arms  
And all the world is calm  
The music playing on for only two  
So close together  
And when I'm with you  
So close to feeling alive  
_

Their dancing began to pick up along with the music. Lenore looked up into his eyes suddeenly realizing how hypnotizingly green they were.

_  
A life goes by  
Romantic dreams will stop  
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew  
So close was waiting, waiting here with you  
And now forever I know  
All that I wanted to hold you  
So close_

So close to reaching that famous happy end  
Almost believing this was not pretend  
And now you're beside me and look how far we've come  
So far we are so close  


Axel sang along to the last two lines as Lenore rested her head on his chest for just a moment. As the music picked up, he twirled her and spun her just as he had the night before. They would both occasionaly smile at each other as he would spin her out and back in again.

_  
How could I face the faceless days  
If I should lose you now?  
We're so close  
To reaching that famous happy end  
And almost believing this was not pretend  
_

The two slowed down and looked deeply into each others' eyes. They soon came to stop as Axel held her in his arms.

_Let's go on dreaming for we know we are  
So close  
So close  
And still so far  
_

As the music was coming to and end, Lenore looked up at him. They closed their eyes and slowly came into a passionate kiss. They slightly parted when Lenore giggled whispering softly into his ear, "I love you." Axel's heart pounded hard in his chest at the sound of those three words.

"I love you, too." he replied. He was so happy, he felt as if he was just about to start crying. Again they gave each other a quick kiss which soon built up into them fulling making out and tripping and falling onto the bed. Axel and Lenore laughed and went back to kissing.

The feeling of Lenore's soft, warm lips against Axel's drove his senses wild. It took nearly seconds for Axel to feel a tightening of his regularly baggy jeans. Axel tried to stop kissing her.

"Lenore," She just kept kissing him, "Lenore."

"yeah?" asked confused as to why he stopped.

"Do you want to...you know?" he asked. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." When it came to this kind of situation, he was told never to force a girl into sex. It might give them the wrong idea. At least that's what his mom, Joanna, had told him growing up. Lenore's eyes got wide surprised that he would actually ask.

"First off, you don't tell me what i want and what I don't want." she replied. Axel began to feel bad. Her eyes softened and kissed him. "But...of course I do." Axel chuckled and went back to kissing her passionately.


End file.
